The Live Ukulele Podcast
Join Brad Bordessa, a professional ukulele teacher and performer, for insightful deep-dives, interviews, and fun on The Live ʻUkulele Podcast! In these episodes you'll explore important uke lessons, hear first-hand stories from the Hawaiʻi music scene, and get to know some of the biggest names in the ukulele community.
With a background in Hawaiian music, Brad approaches the ukulele from the intuitive side. Through tips and tricks to improve your mentality surrounding music and the philosophy of the ukulele, he provides encouragement and permission to explore this four-stringed instrument in an organic way that works best for you.
Guests from Hawaiʻi and abroad join in to share heartfelt and insightful off-the-cuff conversations on a huge range of topics.
Tune in every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month for a new episode and be sure to subscribe.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 46 minutes
- Episodes
- 113
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Tone: The Magic of Your Fingers
In this episode I explore the importance and characteristics of playing with good tone, how to get good tone, who has good tone, how it's different from timbre, and other thoughts.
Resources:
- Groove …
Groove Ukulele: One Strumming Pattern to Rule Them All!
This week is the launch of my new ebook, Groove Ukulele. It's all about strumming. Get 20% the new ebook until August 26th at midnight HST! https://liveukulele.com/store/groove-ukulele/
In this episod…
The Good & Bad of Playing the Ukulele as Your First Instrument
A student requested I explore coming to the uke from another instrument vs. starting your musical journey on the ukulele. Here are some of my thoughts.
Resources:
- Uncle George's workshop: https://kah…
Avoiding Discouragement and Managing Expectations
In this episode I share some ideas for breaking a cycle of discouragement by re-framing your expectations for your ukulele journey. Inspired by an email from a reader.
If you or someone you know strug…
The Power of Persistence: Kris Fuchigami's Humbling Journey to Virtuosity
Kris Fuchigami is on the podcast! A fellow ukulele player from the Big Island, Kris rocks it harder and better than most. In this interview he shares stories about getting his pride rubbed in the mud…
Appreciating Hawaiian Music With Peter DeAquino
In this episode I recap the George Kahumoku, Jr. Slack Key & Ukulele Workshop and share an interview with a longtime friend, Peter DeAquino. We talk about some ukulele gear, full time gigging, learni…
Selecting the Right Ukulele Songs to Play & Perform
The songs you choose to play can have a large impact on the quality of your learning and performing experience. Here are some tips to help you choose the right songs for the moment.
Jo…
Some Hard-Earned Tricks for Ukulele Teaching (and Learning) Success
In this episode I discuss some of the things I've learned over the years that help an ukulele class keep a steady and productive pace while suiting every student's needs.
James Hill interviews me for …
Neal Chin's Killer New Chord Trick and Improv Tips
Another great talk story with Seattle-based ʻukulele jazz phenom Neal Chin! He shared a cool chord movement he's learned playing more Brazilian music and how he encourages people to think about impro…
Strumming's Biggest Trick
A huge majority of strums you hear are more simple than you think. There's really only one strum motion and emphasis is built from that. In this episode I share how it works.
Join my n…
The Most Important Part of Music
Everyone talks about playing ukulele with good timing, but why does it actually matter? In this episode I discuss some thoughts on what makes the groove so important.
Metronome challenge video: https:…
How to Support Your Ukulele: Technique & Straps
Some tips for holding your ukulele so that it doesn't fall down as you play and an overview of straps.
Episode resources:
- James's video on holding the ukulele: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VcwGMc…
Off the Beaten Path with Brian Liu!
An interview with ukulele instructor Brian Liu from Next Level Ukulele. We sat down and talked about some of his scariest uke lessons, teaching philosophy, and incorporating the ukulele into new soun…
New Video Lessons Shoutout
Get the lessons here for $10 until midnight UST: https://liveukulele.com/store/hawaiian-songs/
Join my newsletter! It's free and I won't spam you. Get updates on new lessons and access…
Hawaiian Songs For Ukulele
Philosophy on how I approach teaching Hawaiian music and my new course, Hawaiian Songs For Ukulele.
Learn more and buy the lessons here: https://liveukulele.com/store/hawaiian-songs/
Jo…
Keola Donaghy on Keeping Mele Hawaiʻi Hawaiian
A conversation with the director of the Institute of Hawaiian Music. Keola is a composer, translator, and ʻōlelo tech nerd.
Keola's website: https://keoladonaghy.com/
Tennessee Whiskey in Hawaiian: htt…
The ONLY Theory You Should Learn
Resources:
-Microtonal guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVZShd7GZAY
-Tom Briar (as I remember) is the ragtime piano player I was talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhRBGCS8mlc
Easy Uke Hacks to Play Better (5 Things You're Doing Wrong)
These five musical enjoyment enhancers are underutilized tricks of the trade! In this episode we'll have a look at what making the mistake of under-using them means and how to implement them successf…
2022 In Review + Future Live Ukulele Plans
Sharing an overview and some thoughts on the year and what the future holds and projects I'm excited about.
Resources:
- Uke Logic Strings: https://theukulelesite.com/accessories/strings/ukelogic-strin…
My New Ukulele is Moore Bettah When Eaten? 🍈
Unveiling my new recording ukulele with stories and sound demos.
Resources:
- Moore Bettah Ukes (old photo galleries): http://www.moorebettahukes.com/
- My spruce top Moore Bettah: https://liveukulele.c…